In the latest numbers issued by the Dutch Central Bureau of Statistics (CBS), the tourism sector in the Netherlands is shown to contribute much less to the Dutch economy compared to 2019’s data. 📉
Tourism’s contribution to the overall Dutch economy took a sharp drop from 4.4% in 2019 to 2.4% in 2020, where both domestic and foreign tourists only spent 52 billion euros as shown in the latest data.
In describing this economic blow, chief Dutch economist Pieter Hein van Mulligen of CBS told RTL Nieuws that the situation is colossal. ⚠
But why?
Well, the coronavirus, obviously! The pandemic created chaos and exacerbated all these different reasons in an economical blender. On one hand, fewer overnight stays were booked in 2020 by domestic tourists.
As van Mulligen explains “The Dutch often went away for a day within the Netherlands, but often without an overnight stay. They also spent less than foreign tourists.” (Are we really surprised? 😆)
Coronavirus impacts
On the other hand, overall coronavirus restrictions also affected the numbers of both domestic and foreign visitors — a blow that can be most felt by Dutch travel agencies and booking websites, where a 68% decline is reported.
Coronavirus made planning impossible
Additionally, the fluctuating coronavirus measures of the past year and a half have made planning trips ahead a small nightmare — even for the most determined travellers among us. 🧳
Are you planning to travel anytime soon? Tell us more in the comments below.
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We had a trip to the Netherlands planned for May, 2021, but that fell through due to Covid. This year seemed no better. We will attempt to visit again in May, 2022.